Restaurant Guide 2013: Oven and Shaker

[BOOZY NEAPOLITAN] On the east
side, the better pizza joints tend to shutter by 10 pm. But on the west
side, thanks to this royally pedigreed Pearl District spot—run by
Nostrana chef-owner Cathy Whims, restaurant mogul Kurt Huffman and
Aviation Gin co-founder/bartender extraordinaire Ryan Magarian—the
pizzaioli sling pies until midnight. (I don’t know about you, but after
that point I’m content with Lonesome’s or Sizzle Pie, thank you very
much). Oven and Shaker’s pizzas are some of the best in the city,
12-inch pies with a thin and tangy sourdough crust that emerge from the
wood-burning oven perfectly blistered. While the base is authentically
Neapolitan, the toppings are blissfully untraditional, with pork belly
popping up on a pie with sweet roasted corn, creamy mascarpone and
poblano peppers or juicy blackberries joining forces with peaches, farmy
goat cheese and peppery arugula. That boldness is matched—and sometimes
bested—by the first-rate drink menu, which gets creative with
ingredients like maple syrup and yellow bell pepper juice. With a stable
of fenced-off sidewalk tables and a sleekly organized interior, it’s a
place very much at home in the Pearl, but with pizzas and potables good
enough to draw diners from all over the city.